Striker! The name conjures images of coiled
rattlers ready to lash out with deadly fangs. It's a good handle for the
new Savage bolt-action hunter's pistol, especially when it's chambered
for the 21st century .300 Winchester Short Magnum.

Sometimes companies reach out with new
products strictly to grab a chunk of the market. In this case, neither
pistol nor cartridge fall into that niche. The combination is viable and
exciting, producing big one-hand power with accuracy. The Striker that
came my way for testing was the Model 516FSAK Camo, with stainless steel
barreled action and synthetic ambidextrous stock.

Sister Strikers chambered for the .243
Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, and other slimmer rounds are three-shot affairs,
but the magazine of the 516 handles only one fat .300 WSM cartridge, making
it a two-shot repeater. While the .22 rin-ifire versions have detachable
box magazines, centerfire Strikers do not.

I don't know if the Striker can be called
pretty. It looks like something that might be found on the Starship Enterprise's
mission into the final frontier. One thing is certain - small it's not
- with an overall length of 22 1/4-inches. Weight with scope is over 5
1/2-pounds, which is good considering the powerhouse .300 WSM cartridge.

Lefty For Righties

While the Striker is built around the
Savage Model 110 bolt action, it is not a short rifle. It is a pistol with
a button-rifled 14-inch barrel. The bolt handle is on the left for right-handed
shooters. This way, the right hand remains on the grip while the left hand
works the knurled bolt knob.

A three-position, top-tang sliding safety
is located directly behind the bolt. Drawn fully to the rear, the trigger
is deactivated and the bolt is locked. In the mid-point, the trigger remains
locked, but the bolt can be worked to eject a live round. Full forward
is the fire position.

The bolt works smoothly, albeit it takes
a little getting used to for a right-handed shooter. The typically massive
Savage locking lugs provide plenty of strength for high-intensity cartridges.
The bolt release, on the right side of the receiver, is extremely easy
to work.

Designed For Scope Sighting

The receiver is drilled and tapped for
scope mounting, no iron sights provided. The Savage mount matches the stainless
steel receiver/barrel. It was simple to install with its one-piece bridge
and five slots for ring location. My choice of Thompson/Center's long eye
relief No. 8315 pistol scope fit perfectly. The contrasting black finish
of the scope added to the overall appearance of the Striker -- a personal
opinion.

All target work was accomplished with
the 2.5x-7x variable set at its highest magnification. The company calls
this one-inch tube scope its Recoil Proof[TM] model. That's good, because
the .300 WSM does raise a little ruckus when the Striker is touched off.

The adjustable muzzle brake, which switches
off or on with a single twist, was left in the "on" position to enjoy its
promised 30-percent recoil reduction. Velocity is slightly higher when
the brake is active. The muzzle brake is revolved to the "oft" position
for reduction of side muzzle blast, as well as shooting prone, where the
brake raise a mini-cyclone of dust in front of the shooter.

The Striker's action is pillar bedded,
the barrel free floated. Groups with both Winchester and Federal factory
ammunition varied. Considering the accuracy potential of the Striker, combined
with the excellent factory ammo, clusters should have been tighter than
a swollen cork. Some were, but the heavy trigger on the test gun made it
impossible to wring the true potential from this handgun.

Heavy Trigger

A few 50-yard groups fell under an inch,
but others were twice that size. These would shrink after a little trigger
tuning by a qualified gunsmith. My RCBS trigger pull scale showed a let-off
of 4.5 pounds with considerable creep. The Striker deserves a more refined
trigger pull. Savage provides instructions, but the company says: "Striker
trigger adjustment steps for use by qualified gunsmiths only." That's the
right policy.

In the hunting field a convenient way
to carry the Stiker is required -- and in .300 WSM, this is a big-game
hunting pistol, not a plinker, with power similar to a .30-'06 rifle. Savage
provides a means of adding sling swivel studs. Instructions are in the
owner's manual. The front stud is installed similarly to the normal approach
with a bolt-action sporting rifle, using a machine-threaded stud secured
by a nut from inside the stock. The rear stud should be mounted in place
of the factory grip cap screw. It's a simple process, and Michaels of Oregon
can supply the swivel studs.

For me, carrying the pistol in the field
means a narrow strap, not a military type sling, the strap retaining the
pistol on a hook integral to the strut of my modified Camp Trails Freighter
packframe. The Striker will be completely out of the way using this system,
but ready for action in seconds.

The .300 WSM

This is about the Striker pistol; however,
part of the story rests with the cartridges it chambers, specifically the
.300 WSM in the test gun. Short and fat powder columns provide the best
accuracy, but that rule can be taken too far. I've watched the .300 H&H
Magnum print bullets into Ebenezer Scrooge patterns in spite of its long,
narrow, tapered powder column. On the other hand, having worked with the
6mm PPC cartridge and other shorties, I defer to the experts who insist
that shorter and fatter is the trail to best accuracy.

What's more, there is something to powder
burning efficiently when it exists in a short column, as proven by the
fact that my own .25-284 Winchester wildcat produces higher velocity than
my .25-'06 with the same loads. The .300 WSM, unlike most new cartridge
developments, is not based on any pre-existing case, nor does it behave
exactly like other .30-caliber rounds.

I learned in a seminar on the new series
of short magnums that they tend to burn slightly faster powders better
than their full-length counterparts. For example, my best loads in the
.300 Winchester Magnum are with H-1000 powder, which easily propels the
180-grain bullet at over 3,100 fps. However, the .300 WSM does well with
H4350. Chronograph data from a reliable source included a 180-grain bullet
with 65.0-grains H-4350 for 3,054-fps, from a rifle of course, not a pistol.

On the other hand, there is no free lunch,
as the cliche goes -- bullets over 150 grains do invade the case, effectively
reducing the powder capacity. Of course a longer magazine remedies this
little problem, whereby bullets can be seated farther out. Nevertheless,
the .300 WSM in the Striker is a powerful handful.

Test Ammo

My factory .300 WSM test ammo came from
two companies, Winchester and Federal. Winchester has three loads in its
Super-X and Supreme lines. There is a 150-grain Supreme Ballistic Silvertip
at an advertised 3,300 fps for 3,628 ft-lbs of energy. A Supreme 180-grain
Fail Safe bullet is shown at 2,970-fps for 3,527 ft-lbs. The Super-X load
comes with the company's tried and true 180-grain Power Point at the same
advertised velocity as the Supreme.

Federal gives the shooter two 180-grain
loads, both listed at 2,970 fps. One carries the praiseworthy Trophy Bonded
Bear Claw bullet, the other with the 180-grain Speer Grand Slam. Both are
fine game bullets. I had only the latter to test.

So what velocities did we actually see
from the 14-inch barrel of the Savage Striker? With Winchester's 150-grain
Ballistic Silvertip, the chronograph read speeds of very nearly 2,900 fps.
The 180-grain Fail Safe load clocked at 2,600 fps. The Federal 180-grain
Grand Slam was just a bit more sedate, at 2,300 fps.

A Ready Market

There's no doubt about it, the Savage
Striker will tickle the fancy of big-game handgun hunters. At the 2002
Safari Club International convention in Las Vegas, I listened to a lady
Diana talking about her adventures upon various continents for different
species. She had turned to the handgun, finding it more challenging and
rewarding than the rifle. I suspect a hunter such as she will take to the
.300 WSM Striker like a gopher to the garden.

Meanwhile, Savage was smart to offer the
Striker in different cartridge choices. Some shooters will gravitate to
less boisterous calibers for big game, such as the 7mm-08 or .308, while
those interested in pistol shooting for varmints, target work, and pure
fun, will choose the small-frame Striker in .22 Long Rifle or .22 Magnum.